God Eater 3 (PS4) Review

Breezing Through the Ashlands

Score: 7.5 / 10

Genre: Action RPG

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Although I’ve never had an easy time getting into Capcom’s Monster Hunterfranchise or other games of the same genre, I’ve been a fan of the Bandai Namco’s God Eater series since its PlayStation Portable debut back in 2010. Thanks to its faster-paced action gameplay and unapologetically anime-esque plots accompanied by a colourful cast of characters, God Eater titles have always been more akin to the JRPGs that I’m used to. Bandai Namco’s newest entry in the series, God Eater 3, is no exception to this. As the first God Eatertitle to be originally developed for home consoles, God Eater 3 dials nearly all of its elements up to an eleven, nearly becoming a detriment.

Like the two entries before it, God Eater 3is a 3D action RPG where players take on the role of a God Eater. Using weapons known as God Arcs, players hunt down Aragami, large monsters that have brought the world to the brink of collapse. Picking up some time after God Eater 2, a new calamity called the Ashlands has released particles into the air which break down anything they come in direct contact with. God Eater 3 does a good job of introducing players to the world created in the previous games while setting up its own unique setting, allowing for new players to jump right in.

God Eater 3 – Review Images Provided by Bandai Namco

The leap from handheld to consoles gives God Eater 3 the chance to better portray the state of God Eater’s destroyed world. The environments of each map are much more detailed and thanks to the much larger scaled maps, areas are more varied than in previous titles. Despite the increase in size, however, many of God Eater 3’s maps contain a number of invisible walls which can pull you out of the experience a bit. Character models have also benefitted greatly, though they can appear stiff during cutscenes. Another small gripe I had with the character models mouth movements is that they rarely match up with the game’s English audio. Fortunately, God Eater 3 also includes its original Japanese dub in case this problem becomes too big of an issue. God Eater 3 typically does itself well during intense action but with too many Aragami onscreen at once, the game does suffer from some slowdown.

At first glance, God Eater 3 may not look all that different from the games before it. Veteran God Eater players will feel right at home with the familiar format. God Eater 3 begins with its new and improved character creation system. The system still lacks in some areas, only allowing players to alter their avatar’s face, hair and voice, but it still works for creating a unique character when combined with all the game’s craftable outfits. God Eater 3 has players choose from an expanding list of missions before heading out into the field to take down the target Aragami. Similar to other games of the genre, players can create combos by chaining together strings of light and heavy attacks. Hitting certain parts of an Aragami will break off that part of their body, allowing players to deal extra damage and giving them a chance to “devour” their enemy, absorbing part of its powers while also sending the player into Burst Mode, making room for even more powerful techniques called burst artes.

God Eater 3 – Review Images Provided by Bandai Namco

When it comes to customization in God Eater 3, appearance is only a small
portion of a much larger package. Nearly every aspect of a player’s loadout can
be modified, from attacks performed during Burst Limit to special-made bullets.
Passive abilities can also be selected, with some working automatically while
others activate after certain conditions are met during battle. If all that
wasn’t enough, these customizable abilities can be enhanced as players use
them, unlocking new abilities along the way. In addition to initial weapon
crafting and upgrading, these options give players something to constantly look
forward to as they play, though introducing a slight problem in terms of
difficulty. At a very early stage in the game, it’s possible to have an almost
broken moveset with burst artes capable of damaging multiple weak points at
once, turning many missions into button mashing bores. God Eater 3’s new type
of Aragami, the Ash Aragami, do set themselves apart by being an actual
challenge, but encounters with them are rare compared to the dozen or so
missions in each. The new multiplayer Assault
Missions are another good way for players to test their character builds
against real enemies. Assault Missions
have up to eight players band together to try and take down a new variant of an
Aragami, with increased strength. This new game type ended up trumping the
original cooperative mode by forcing players to really work together if they
want to stand a chance against these powerful foes.

For all that God Eater 3 does right, it’s held back by a few nagging flaws. By
replicating the level of highspeed action found in the game’s animated intros
and giving players so much control over their own character and their party
members, God Eater 3 ends up removing
a lot of the challenge that Aragami used to bring in the older titles. However,
when God Eater 3 does decide to
include an actual threat, the game is a blast to play. This especially reigns
true when playing with actual people, capable of strategizing to the same degree
as you. Bandai Namco has already announced that new Assault Missions will be coming to the game for free and I for one,
look forward to hunting with my fellow God Eaters.

7.5

God Eater 3’s main draw is its flashy action, but only occasionally brings real challenge along with it

A copy of the game was Publisher Supplied for this review. You can find additional information about CGMagazine’s ethics policy on our policies page.